Tre'davious White ready to 'earn his stripes' as top CB in Bills secondary

The Buffalo Bills didn’t waste any time being active during the 2017 NFL draft, trading their No. 10 overall pick to the Kansas City Chiefs for their No. 27 selection, along with a third-round pick and a 2018 first-round draft choice.

Fans waited in agony for those 17 picks to go by and when the Bills were finally on the clock, it didn’t take long for the team to turn in the draft card with LSU cornerback Tre’davious White written on it.

New head coach Sean McDermott is a strong proponent of acquiring high-character individuals and selecting White as his first draft choice as the Bills’ coach proved just that.

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White was a four-year starter for the Tigers and the former Green Oaks High School Valedictorian appreciated his time at LSU so much that he wrote an open letter to fans, explaining that they were the reason he decided to return for his senior season despite being viewed as a top prospect one year ago.

Now, White is in the NFL and has some big shoes to fill after the Bills lost star cornerback Stephon Gilmore to their division rival New England Patriots in free agency. But, the 5-foot-11, 192-pound corner is ready to get to work and prove himself.

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“I can’t come in and be the top dog. I know I have to come in, get familiar with everybody and just try to adapt to the situation and earn my stripes with the guys who have put in their blood, sweat and tears here,” White told the media. “I got to pretty much come in and learn from them. And then, when the time presents itself, when guys start looking at me as a leader, I would 100% do that to the best of my ability.”

Coming out of LSU, often referred to as ‘DB-U’ for the program’s penchant for sending elite defensive backs such as Patrick Peterson, Tyrann Mathieu, Eric Reid and Morris Claiborne, among others, to the NFL as high draft picks and White is confident that he can continue that tradition.

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In his 49 career games with the Tigers, White recorded 168 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, 34 pass breakups and six interceptions. Last season he was targeted 61 times, allowing just 26 receptions (42.6-percent) for 302 yards and only three touchdowns while limiting opposing quarterbacks to a 61.0 passer rating.

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Now, he’s ready to join a secondary featuring talented defenders in cornerback Ronald Darby, safety/cornerback Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer, all players that he’s familiar with and excited to get on the field with.

“I just feel I can bring some depth to this secondary. We already have some great players, some players that I’ve watched for some time in Micah Hyde – I watched him when he was in Green Bay. I’ve watched a lot of (Ronald) Darby when I was in college and he was at Florida State. He was another guy.”

Nothing is certain when it comes to the NFL draft, but on paper, White seems like the exact type of player that the Bills so desperately need – both on and off of the football field.